Idaho lawmakers are back in Boise and have a laundry list of issues they plan to tackle this year, many of which might kind of feel like a broken record from last year. Initiatives? Check. Medicaid funding? Yep. Redistricting? Absolutely.
Speaking of that, Republicans introduced a constitutional amendment last year to add a seventh member to Idaho’s bipartisan redistricting commission who would almost certainly be the group’s fourth Republican.
If passed by the GOP-dominated legislature, such a measure would need approval from voters. When asked if he thought the commission needed to be changed, Gov. Brad Little said this:
“My experience in legislative leadership is if you lost, it needs to be changed. If you won, it’s fine,” he said.
Republicans say they also want to make changes to how citizens initiatives get on the ballot. Little vetoed two such proposals last year.
At a news conference this morning, Little said he worried about the constitutionality of that package and that his mind hasn’t changed over the past few months.
“I haven’t seen what they’re talking about, but my position is the same as it was in my veto message.”
At a minimum, House Speaker Scott Bedke (R-Oakley) said he wanted future initiatives to look more like a bill any legislator would introduce, meaning it would have both a statement of purpose, as well as a fiscal analysis attached to it.
Republicans are also making local property taxes a priority – which have been rising significantly in many parts of Idaho. Some have floated the idea of limiting the ability of local governments to raise property taxes or put limits on how they build their budgets.
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) said lawmakers should just lift the cap on how much homeowners can deduct off their property’s value.
“I think it would really not be doing our constituents a favor if we kneecap our local government in an effort to address local property tax issues,” Rubel said.
She said she’d also like to see Idaho’s Circuit Breaker program, which offers property tax relief to low-income seniors, veterans and those with disabilities.
While Little has ordered state agencies to cut current year spending by 1% and prepared for a possible 2% rollback in the upcoming budget cycle, he seems to be at least considering the possibility of repealing the state tax on groceries – something he has promised to do.
Doing so would cost between $80-90 million, according to Bedke, who would rather boost Idaho’s existing tax credit on grocery expenses for in-state residents.
Details on that proposal, he said, would be coming in his State of the State Address Monday afternoon at the Idaho Capitol.
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